Samsung eyes $43 billion in 2020 sales from new areas

South Korea's Samsung Group targets 50 trillion won ($43.3 billion) in sales in 2020 from new growth businesses, the chief executive of its core unit Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Thursday.

Samsung, South Korea's No.1 business conglomerate with nearly 70 affiliates, is expanding into solar cells, new displays, healthcare and medical equipment with investments of 23 trillion won by 2020.

Samsung Electronics CEO Choi Gee-sung reaffirmed on Thursday that Samsung Group aimed to generate 50 trillion won in revenue from the new businesses by 2020 and the electronics unit wanted to more than double its revenue to $400 billion.

Helped by a recovery in chip prices, Samsung reported record revenue of 136 trillion won last year, replacing Hewlett-Packard Co as the world's top technology company by sales.

It is set to report record sales of 154 trillion won this year, having earned 112.8 trillion won in the first nine months of 2010, according to analysts.